High-energy laser has destroyed 11 drones in 10 days as the Pentagon expands counter-drone operations along the southern border
by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Washington D.C. Bureau Chief
McALLEN, Texas (Worthy News) – Drone activity along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley has fallen by roughly 75% since the U.S. military began using a high-energy laser weapon to destroy suspicious unmanned aircraft, military officials told CBS News.
The Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system made its operational debut along the border on August 25 and 26, destroying three drones that U.S. Northern Command said were supporting cartel activities that threatened American military personnel and Customs and Border Protection agents.
Since then, the weapon has destroyed 11 drones in about 10 days. Military officials said U.S. forces have intercepted roughly 300 cartel-linked drones since the beginning of the year, using electronic jamming as well as the new laser system.
Unlike electronic countermeasures that can temporarily jam a drone and force it to retreat, the laser physically destroys the aircraft, preventing cartels from simply launching the same drone again.
Army Col. Robert Felicio, commander of the 130th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade deployed along the border, said officials have witnessed a significant change in drone activity since the weapon was introduced. Military officials cautioned that other factors — including cartels changing surveillance routes — could also contribute to the decline.
Cartels frequently use small drones to monitor the locations of U.S. troops and law-enforcement personnel, helping smugglers identify areas where drugs or illegal migrants can be moved across the border with less chance of detection. Armed cartel drones have also increasingly appeared in Mexico’s violent battles between rival criminal organizations.
The emerging battlefield technology could prove particularly significant because of its economics. Once deployed, laser systems can engage small drones at a fraction of the cost of conventional missile interceptors, giving U.S. forces another tool against the rapidly expanding drone threat.
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